Despite how people complained about his advertising persona, he seemed a decent person. I don't remember hearing scandal or gossip about his personal life and the products he sold seem to actually work( I've always heard nothing but good reviews for OxyClean.).

Billy Mays Facts (http://www.billymaysfacts.com/).

My favorites.

Narwhals wash their tusks with OxyClean.
After hearing a Billy Mays infomercial, R. Lee Ermey reconsidered his own personal commitment to perpetually yelling.

R.I.P. BILLY

Frazzled

06-28-2009, 11:41 AM

That's a shame - I hated his commercials but saw Pitchmen a few times. I have to say that he grew on me. He seemed to be a boisterous and fun person.

Broomstick

06-28-2009, 11:43 AM

That's too bad, I'm sorry to hear that!

Although infomercials will probably not be as loud in the future....

MadTheSwine

06-28-2009, 11:43 AM

This oughta put an end to all the Michael Jackson coverage.

BrandonR

06-28-2009, 11:45 AM

Wow, this past week has not been good to celebrities. Is 50 the new 80?

EddyTeddyFreddy

06-28-2009, 11:46 AM

Damn. I saw him interviewed on one of the late night talk shows, and he came across as a decent guy, with some fascinating stories about the old days of sidewalk pitchmen. He got up and demonstrated the tools of his trade, and took the host's joking jabs with amiable good humor.

I will say, he looked a lot older and more time-worn than in the commercials. That was a face lined from some tough years.

Unintentionally Blank

06-28-2009, 11:49 AM

What happened to everybody dieing in threes? We've got Farah, McMahon, Jackson, and now Mays

Johnny L.A.

06-28-2009, 11:52 AM

What happened to everybody dieing in threes? We've got Farah, McMahon, Jackson, and now Mays

And Carradine this month as well.

Five is the new three.

Bearflag70

06-28-2009, 11:52 AM

What happened to everybody dieing in threes? We've got Farah, McMahon, Jackson, and now Mays

1. Carradine
2. McMahon
3. Fawcett

1. Jackson
2. Mays
3.

Johnny L.A.

06-28-2009, 11:54 AM

They're dying like angel fish, I tells ya!

Lee Majors is looking a little old.

Frazzled

06-28-2009, 11:55 AM

What happened to everybody dieing in threes? We've got Farah, McMahon, Jackson, and now Mays

McMahon, Farah, and Jackson were sooo last week. This week is Mays, Cronkite, and Swayze

rocking chair

06-28-2009, 12:28 PM

now wait, someone from a different decade was suppose to die... we have mcmahon (80's) carradine (70's) farrah (60's) jackson (50's). someone who is in their 90's or 100's was next up.

sad news about mays. i hope they don't promote shamwow guy to his spot.

carnivorousplant

06-28-2009, 12:41 PM

Tampa police said Mays was found unresponsive by his wife Sunday morning.

Mrs. Plant makes the same complaint...:eek:

Ogre

06-28-2009, 12:58 PM

I'm sorry the guy is dead, but I can't help but think that anyone who dedicates his life to selling cheap shit to gullible people has lived a trifling, trivial, wasteful life.

Plus, he was annoying.

Spoke

06-28-2009, 01:04 PM

CNN says he took a hit to the head on Saturday (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/28/mays.death/index.html) when his flight blew out a front tire on landing. Wonder if he had some intracranial hemorrhaging going on?

Johnny L.A.

06-28-2009, 01:05 PM

CNN says he took a hit to the head on Saturday (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/28/mays.death/index.html) when his flight blew out a front tire on landing. Wonder if he had some intracranial hemorrhaging going on?

When I heard that, I thought of Natasha Richardson.

Ogre

06-28-2009, 01:05 PM

I'm sorry the guy is dead, but I can't help but think that anyone who dedicates his life to selling cheap shit to gullible people has lived a trifling, trivial, wasteful life.

Plus, he was annoying.Actually, I'd like to retract this statement. It was classless, in light of the fact that he's dead. That's a sad thing.

Sometimes I post without thinking. Sorry, folks.

Spoke

06-28-2009, 01:17 PM

When I heard that, I thought of Natasha Richardson.

Folks, always get those head injuries checked out!

Projammer

06-28-2009, 01:21 PM

While he was certainly annoying, the worst thing I've ever wished on him was laryngitis. Unlike MJ, there was nothing wrong with Billy that couldn't be cured with a TV remote.

What I want to know is why both my ex-wife and eldest son felt compelled to text me the news?

lavenderviolet

06-28-2009, 01:24 PM

I wasn't offended by your comment, but I would just like to point out that not everyone lives for their job. :) Many people out there work at pointless jobs that are just a way to pay the bills and their true meaning in life comes from their time off the clock with families or hobbies.

Harborwolf

06-28-2009, 01:25 PM

Actually, I'd like to retract this statement. It was classless, in light of the fact that he's dead. That's a sad thing.

Sometimes I post without thinking. Sorry, folks.Nah. With a name like Ogre, you're allowed to be harsh.;) I actually thought he came across as kind of a jerk and a blowhard on his show. I'm especially thinking of the episode where he was chumming the water that his co-star on the show was swimming in while laughing about the great joke he was playing.:dubious:

On a more suspicious note, the preview for the next episode of pitchmen has him appearing to pitch for a shamwow type cloth. Wonder if Vince got him.

PlainJain

06-28-2009, 01:30 PM

They're dying like angel fish, I tells ya!

Lee Majors is looking a little old.
Have you seen Ryan O'Neal? Too bad for Billy. Still, I bet it will be years before they stop running those awful ads.

Johnny L.A.

06-28-2009, 01:33 PM

Have you seen Ryan O'Neal? Too bad for Billy. Still, I bet it will be years before they stop running those awful ads.

They should stop showing those ads, out of respect.

I mentioned Lee Majors looking old. AFAIK, his health is OK.

Walter Cronkite will be next, perhaps in the next day or so.

enalzi

06-28-2009, 01:38 PM

Nah. With a name like Ogre, you're allowed to be harsh.;) I actually thought he came across as kind of a jerk and a blowhard on his show. I'm especially thinking of the episode where he was chumming the water that his co-star on the show was swimming in while laughing about the great joke he was playing.:dubious:
Eh.. I'm sure that's just editting. In the recent episode (which involved shooting hundreds of bugs at a windshield) they make a big deal over May's son (the animal lover) running away with the bugs and halt production. Of course, I'm sure it was probably just a joke and he probably ran away for a minute.

On a more suspicious note, the preview for the next episode of pitchmen has him appearing to pitch for a shamwow type cloth. Wonder if Vince got him.

My guess would be that it's Zorbeez (which is essentially the same product). Zorbeez was out a long time before the ShamWow.

enalzi

06-28-2009, 01:39 PM

They should stop showing those ads, out of respect.

I bet Billy would be mad if they stopped showing the ads. He certainly seemed proud of the work he was doing.

beowulff

06-28-2009, 01:43 PM

They should stop showing those ads, out of respect..

...To TV viewers.

cmyk

06-28-2009, 01:43 PM

What the hell is happening?! I'll miss him constantly yelling at me.

My wife was just starting to get into Pitchmen, and I was thinking of watching it too, as it looked like a fun show.

Wow.

Mahaloth

06-28-2009, 01:43 PM

I'm sorry the guy is dead, but I can't help but think that anyone who dedicates his life to selling cheap shit to gullible people has lived a trifling, trivial, wasteful life.

Were his products inferior? I've never bought one, but thought that he sold generally good things.

I mean, he's not Kevin Trudeau, who actually sells nothing but words on paper and is actively hurting gullible people.

When I think of Billy Mays, I think of OxiClean mainly, which I thought was a real cleaning product.

Ogre

06-28-2009, 01:51 PM

Were his products inferior? I've never bought one, but thought that he sold generally good things.

I mean, he's not Kevin Trudeau, who actually sells nothing but words on paper and is actively hurting gullible people.

When I think of Billy Mays, I think of OxiClean mainly, which I thought was a real cleaning product.Since I've apologized for threadshitting, I am hesitant to address this in this thread. I don't want to start an argument.

cmyk

06-28-2009, 01:54 PM

I think David Carradine set off some find of mortal Kung Fu chain reaction. So powerful was his Fu. He took out 4 other people with just his Chi.

I feel the same sort of bummitude as I did for Steve Irwin. And way more bummed about this than MJ. Jacko's technically been gone for 20 years.

RIP, Billy.

WarmNPrickly

06-28-2009, 01:57 PM

OxiClean is a great product. I use it to get stains out of my carpet all the time. The stuff cleans very well without destroying the color. Of course I use the generic brand sodium peroxibiicarbonate. I don't pay for advertising.

I never really had a problem with Billy Mays. He did his job very well. He probably got a lot of credit for the fact that OxyClean really was pretty good at doing what he claimed in his first ads. The rest of his products did what they said, but seemed pretty useless.

Odesio

06-28-2009, 02:00 PM

Billy mays here for oxyclean corpse remover!

Markxxx

06-28-2009, 02:10 PM

Mays was a major icon in the gay community especially for guys that like bears.

For some reason it strikes me as a bit odd or creepy when the guy is selling stuff after he dies. Wasn't Michael Landon selling stuff after he died too (or maybe it was another celeb)

geezermom67

06-28-2009, 02:16 PM

1. Carradine
2. McMahon
3. Fawcett

1. Jackson
2. Mays
3.

Maybe if you started the list with Bea Arthur?

Malleus, Incus, Stapes!

06-28-2009, 02:22 PM

Who's Carradine?

(No, it has not been a good week for celebrities).

cmyk

06-28-2009, 02:33 PM

Who's Carradine?

(No, it has not been a good week for celebrities).

David Carradine. (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=David+Carradine) Or am I being wooshed?

BobLibDem

06-28-2009, 02:33 PM

Angels! Get those wings clean with Oxy-Clean! Works on halos, wings, even Pearly Gates!

gonzomax

06-28-2009, 02:40 PM

He actually looked like he was in pretty good shape. He seemed a lot healthier than MJ.

Justin_Bailey

06-28-2009, 02:43 PM

1. Carradine
2. McMahon
3. Fawcett

1. Jackson
2. Mays
3.

Isn't Carradine too far away. I always thought "It happened in 3s" had to happen in the same week.

So wouldn't Mays be the start of a new 3?

Shirley Ujest

06-28-2009, 02:47 PM

Walter Cronkite is supposedly very unwell and not expected to make it.

Cornelius Tuggerson

06-28-2009, 03:10 PM

I get as annoyed by his infomercials as the next guy, and I've never bought anything he pitched for, but he always embodied America's entrepreneurial spirit to me. He worked hard with what he had and made it pretty big. RIP Billy.

jayjay

06-28-2009, 03:24 PM

He actually looked like he was in pretty good shape. He seemed a lot healthier than MJ.

It may have been a Natasha Richardson type thing. Apparently, he was hit in the head with one of the baggage compartment panels while getting off a plane yesterday. Went home, took a nap, woke up dead.

carnivorousplant

06-28-2009, 03:33 PM

Went home, took a nap, woke up dead.

Not a bad way to go.

Jettboy

06-28-2009, 03:54 PM

I'll miss him a lot more than I'll miss Michael Jackson.

I use OxyClean and Orange Glo often; both are decent products. My wife and son got me a Big City Slider Station, another product pitched by Billy Mays, for Father's Day; not a bad piece of kitchen junk at all. Even if some of the things he pitched were honestly crap, I always got the impression that Mays believed in his heart that they were fan-fucking-tastic inventions that everyone just had to have.

acetylene

06-28-2009, 04:20 PM

This is so weird. I just got done watching Wednesday's episode of Pitchmen on DVR and came here to start a thread asking if anyone else was watching and enjoying the show. And iGoogle tells me Mays is dead. :(

He really did seem like a nice guy and he was also a shrewd businessman. He also helped a lot of people who had sunk their hopes and dreams into one invention make it big.

IvoryTowerDenizen

06-28-2009, 04:32 PM

My 11 year old used to call him "the oxymoron". Now we can't ever use that joke again...

RIP Billy

TBG

06-28-2009, 05:22 PM

Maybe if you started the list with Bea Arthur?

Well, then you gotta throw in Dom DeLuise too.

An Arky

06-28-2009, 05:59 PM

I don't know what's going on; it's like some leaky wormhole and these are the fnords or something.

carnivorousplant

06-28-2009, 06:05 PM

fnords or something.

I used to know a girl named Fnord. She was Swedish.

Johnny L.A.

06-28-2009, 06:07 PM

What did she drive?

Unintentionally Blank

06-28-2009, 06:14 PM

A Prefect

Johnny Q

06-28-2009, 08:04 PM

I blame the Shamwow guy.

cochrane

06-28-2009, 08:44 PM

This is sad news. He had a young daughter, about 5, I believe, and she has to be devastated. And Billy was so proud to have his son, Little Billy, working with him. He truly seemed to be loved by family and friends.

EddyTeddyFreddy

06-28-2009, 10:52 PM

They should stop showing those ads, out of respect.

I saw one of the scratch-fixer ads this evening.

Spoke

06-29-2009, 12:19 AM

Soon, we'll have no celebrities left at all.

Magiver

06-29-2009, 12:44 AM

Walter Cronkite will be next, perhaps in the next day or so. :dubious: I see. So where were you on the night of tomorrow?

Jragon

06-29-2009, 12:51 AM

Okay, seriously, I think someone has just found a Death Note and is writing down the names of public figures at random. Everyone keep your eyes open...

OttoDaFe

06-29-2009, 01:00 AM

One of my first reactions was that Og must have acquired such a large stash of Veg-O-Matics and Pocket Fishermen (Fishermans?) that He needed both Ed McMahon and Billy Mays to move them.

Yes, I know I'm going to Hell. Not for this, though — at worst, this is merely a symptom.

tim314

06-29-2009, 01:22 AM

Were his products inferior? I've never bought one, but thought that he sold generally good things.

I mean, he's not Kevin Trudeau, who actually sells nothing but words on paper and is actively hurting gullible people.

When I think of Billy Mays, I think of OxiClean mainly, which I thought was a real cleaning product.You're right on both points. OxiClean really works, and Kevin Trudeau is the scum of the Earth (IMO, anyway).

cochrane

06-29-2009, 03:31 AM

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, ... BUT WAIT, THAT'S NOT ALL!! Act now and we'll throw in Billy Mays for the price of three!

Yeah, I know. I'm going to hell. But I was already on the bus a long time ago. :D

Abby_Emma_Sasha

06-29-2009, 04:56 AM

Oh God, Why? Whyyyyy? Why not Vince, huh? Slap chop this baby.

My bottle of Oxy Clean is at half mast, but not for long because it is leaking.

Good grief, people, say what you will about the man but Oxy Clean is a Godsend.

Through Vince Shlomi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Offer), the Shamwow Guy. Billy never pitched that product.

longPath

06-29-2009, 10:35 AM

He and Michael Jackson were just 2 months apart in age.

:(

Michael Who?

MeanOldLady

06-29-2009, 10:59 AM

Through Vince Shlomi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_Offer), the Shamwow Guy. Billy never pitched that product.A little joke. I know all about Vince. The guy beats up hookers, you know.

Sailboat

06-29-2009, 11:00 AM

Okay, this one (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11214740&postcount=100) from the David Carradine thread is coming back to haunt me.

Weird.

Amp

06-29-2009, 11:07 AM

Okay, this one (http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11214740&postcount=100) from the David Carradine thread is coming back to haunt me.

Weird.

So it was all your fault.

Serenata67

06-29-2009, 01:55 PM

This oughta put an end to all the Michael Jackson coverage.

There's no way the OxyClean guy will eclipse the King of Pop. Not that I have anything against either of them, but Michael was in the public eye for over 30 years. Mays... well, closer to 3 than 30.

Also, I thought this was a bit tacky, but last night on MSNBC (I think), they were doing a special about TV Marketing and informercials... and it had Billy Mays all over it... and no mention of his death (probably put together before his death, obviously). And they didn't reschedule the programming. I thought it was in horrible taste.

Serenata67

06-29-2009, 02:07 PM

1. Carradine
2. McMahon
3. Fawcett

1. Jackson
2. Mays
3.

Let's throw Bea Arthur up there as number one. She died about 2 months ago.

jayjay

06-29-2009, 02:09 PM

Let's throw Bea Arthur up there as number one. She died about 2 months ago.

Gotta leave room for Cronkite...

Amp

06-29-2009, 02:14 PM

Well, his autopsy is in. Everyoen who said he was a big-hearted fellow was right in more ways than one. Looks like he had an enlarged heart (http://www.popeater.com/television/article/billy-mays-dies/546990?icid=main|main|dl1|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.popeater.com%2Ftelevision%2Farticle%2Fbilly-mays-dies%2F546990) that contrubuted to his death.

carnivorousplant

06-29-2009, 02:34 PM

Let's throw Bea Arthur up there as number one. She died about 2 months ago.

Arthur, Jackson and Mays sounds like a law firm.

Jack Batty

06-29-2009, 02:35 PM

I successfully predicted the death of Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopez, as a third in a death trifecta. Allow me to elucidate ... it's all in the letters ...

First you take the first letter of the first name of the first person to die, and count to the first letter of the first name of second person who died. Following me here?

In this case, from M (Michael) to W (for William (Billy)) is a count of 10.

Then you do the same methodology for last names. In this case J (Jackson) is a count of 3 to M (Mays).

Then you just apply the counts to the second person's names to come up with the initials for the doomed third person.

Again, in this case, a count of 10 from W (William (Billy)) - making the turn at Z - gives us a G.
A count of 3 from M (Mays) gives us a P.

I wouldn't want to be Gwyneth Paltrow right about now.
On the other hand, my original guess for 'Left Eye' was Linda Ellerbee, so someone else entirely could be on the hook.

Johnny L.A.

06-29-2009, 02:44 PM

A count of 3 from M (Mays) gives us a P.

I wouldn't want to be Gwyneth Paltrow right about now.

Only, Gale Storm died; so you only get half-credit.

Enderw24

06-29-2009, 03:13 PM

Swear to God, this was in our letter to the Editor page this morning:

I'm a religious man, but not a fanatic. However, whenever Billy Mays, the pitchman, does commercials, I say a little prayer that he will lose his obnoxious voice.
I do not scream my prayer; I just say it in a normal voice.
- Michael Douglas, Smithville

Note to self: do not get on Michael Douglas's bad side.

cochrane

06-29-2009, 05:28 PM

Let's throw Bea Arthur up there as number one. She died about 2 months ago.
I'd throw Bea Arthur out. I'd only take note of a pattern if celebrities die within a few days of each other, usually in a one week period. Ed McMahon died on June 23. Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died on the 25th, so McMahon's death would start the pattern. Gale Storm was certainly notable. She passed away on the 27th, and Billy Mays died yesterday, the 28th. That makes five widely known celebs in less than a week. That's certainly a more noticeable pattern IMO than celebs dying weeks and months apart. I might concede Carradine, since he died in the same month as the most recent celebs, but to include Bea Arthur in this latest pattern, to my way of thinking, is certainly a reach.

I remember a similar trifecta in 1990. Jim Henson and Sammy Davis, Jr. bothed died on May 16, 1990, which coincidentally was my birthday. Jill Ireland, the actress and spouse of Charles Bronson, died two days later, on May 18, 1990.

Gangster Octopus

06-29-2009, 05:40 PM

He worked hard his life, made an honest buck and was a good family man. It is a true shame.

MeanOldLady

06-30-2009, 09:51 AM

Can someone please explain to me the difference between a ShamWow and a Zorbeez?

Johnny L.A.

06-30-2009, 09:53 AM

I'd throw Bea Arthur out. I'd only take note of a pattern if celebrities die within a few days of each other...

So you're saying Bea Arthur is past her expiry date?

Jack Batty

06-30-2009, 09:53 AM

Can someone please explain to me the difference between a ShamWow and a Zorbeez?

Vince.

Vince is the difference.

Unintentionally Blank

06-30-2009, 10:42 AM

Well, they're both like an Absorber, but not.

Jeep's Phoenix

06-30-2009, 11:13 AM

One's made in Germany. (The Germans make great stuff.)

MeanOldLady

06-30-2009, 12:05 PM

I think the main difference is the Zorbeez is just louder. And of course, there's Vince...

Labdad

06-30-2009, 12:48 PM

The epitaph on his tombstone should be...

BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE...

cochrane

06-30-2009, 01:15 PM

So you're saying Bea Arthur is past her expiry date?
Yeah, I am. As I said, noticing a pattern between celebrities passing away six weeks apart from each other is really reaching for one.

By the way, Fred Travalena died on Sunday. So that makes six in just six days, with two of them passing on Thursday and on Sunday.

Johnny L.A.

06-30-2009, 02:41 PM

By the way, Fred Travalena died on Sunday.

I had to look him up. The name is familiar, but I don't think I ever saw him.

Hey, the Shamwow guy gets a bit of a pass for me since he actually successfully left $cientology and I believe, even got some of his money back. There are rumors the hooker thing was an attempt by $cientology to discredit him under their policy of "fair game."

My container of OxyClean is wearing a black band of mourning, but I still would change the channel when he came on. My husband was watching that pitch man show and he seemed pretty ok. Some folks are just bigger than life. There's much worse things to be. He seemed like a decent enough guy, selling a decent enough product. RIP

Dolores Reborn

06-30-2009, 11:23 PM

I saw the Garden Auger commercial today - and I actually felt kind of sad. And I hated his commercials!

Wow. That was SO COMPLETELY unexpected. I feel oddly relieved that he was a cokehead. Normal people just ... aren't that way.

Sampiro

08-07-2009, 04:51 PM

Apparently it wasn't a coke overdose per se but a fatal heart attack brought on by a combination of ongoing heart disease and coke use.

zombywoof

08-07-2009, 04:56 PM

TMZ reports Vicodin, Valium, Xanax, oxycodone, temazepam, and alcohol were found in his system too.

jayjay

08-07-2009, 06:04 PM

Well, the coke was obviously so he could continue to be conscious under the effects of the ass-ton of goddamn sedatives...

D-bear

08-07-2009, 09:20 PM

TMZ reports Vicodin, Valium, Xanax, oxycodone, temazepam, and alcohol were found in his system too.

But wait! There's more...

Wile E

08-08-2009, 11:07 AM

Not that I had a lot of respect for the guy anyway, but after hearing all the eulogizing I thought maybe he wasn't a bad guy, but now I have no respect or sympathy except for his family. The guy had it all and threw it away. There's tons of people with chronic pain that don't resort to illegal drugs, and can manage without a buttload of prescription drugs. If he hadn't died that night he'd have died the next day during his scheduled surgery because I doubt his anesthetist would have been informed about all the drugs he was taking.

So does this mean we will finally stop seeing him trying to sell us stuff from beyond the grave?

Unintentionally Blank

08-08-2009, 11:32 AM

Not that I had a lot of respect for the guy anyway, but after hearing all the eulogizing I thought maybe he wasn't a bad guy, but now I have no respect or sympathy except for his family. The guy had it all and threw it away. There's tons of people with chronic pain that don't resort to illegal drugs, and can manage without a buttload of prescription drugs.

Yeah! Like Michael Jackson!

<D&R>

Marley23

08-08-2009, 11:40 AM

That's an excessive amount of drugs, but I'm left wondering how many of them were for the hip pain, as opposed to being evidence he was a pill-popper. Probably some of each.

DudleyGarrett

08-08-2009, 12:56 PM

But wait! There's more...

LOL - I'm totally going to hell for laughing at this.

teela brown

08-09-2009, 02:04 PM

Wow. And I used to joke that he reminded me of Al Borland on cocaine.

Cisco

08-09-2009, 02:25 PM

Who would've thought that a slick, hyperactive salesman forged in the '80s would've been on cocaine?

I loved Billy Mays, though. And I do have sympathy. Everybody fucks up.